Lighten Up
by TeenoBird
Summary: Will Castle ever find out why Beckett broke up with Demming?  The back and forth flirting between Kate Beckett and Richard Castle and a little romance.  Knockout hasn't happened yet & Josh is out of the picture, FINALLY.
1. The Competition

**Hey everyone! This is my first story i've written about Castle. Actually this is the first time i'm using this website to upload anything but i'm slowly getting the hang of it. I'm hoping to continue this story for a few more chapters. Let me know what you think! :)**

Disclaimer: I do not own the following characters...yet ;).

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><p>"Have you been here all night?" Beckett jumped at the sound of Castle's voice. She hadn't even heard him come in.<p>

"Was that really necessary?" She looked away from the murder board and at Castle who was eyeing the board, two cups of coffee in hand.

"Was what necessary?" he looked over at her and handed her a cup.

"Thanks," she said quietly and went on to answer his question, "Scaring me like that."

Ignoring her answer he looked up at the murder board again. "You know, what if our vic was an undercover government agent? That would explain alot."

"Really Castle? You're sticking with that theory again?" Castle look down at Beckett and saw that she had just finished rolling her eyes whilst trying her best not to smile.

"One day I'm going to be right. And when that day comes—"

"It won't." Beckett interjected.

"When it does—"

"Don't bother Castle. I don't want to hear another CIA theory while you're here. Got it? Cause if you do, I might just have to shoot you and right now I could really do without the extra paper work." Beckett kept her eyes on the board as she spoke, sipping her coffee in between sentences to hide her smile.

Castle didn't bother to hiding his own smile as he continued to stare at the board. After a few minutes of silence he decided to sit down at his usual spot beside Beckett's desk. That caught Beckett's attention and she turned her back on the murder board to see what Castle was up to.

"What? No more theories?" She smirked, amused at his silence.

"Oh, so now I've been granted permission to speak? Have you already forgotten about your promise to shoot me?" Castle loved to get playful with her. She was always so serious and uptight about whatever case it was they were working on and he felt like it was his duty to lighten up the mood a little. Today he'd succeeded. His triumphant smile demonstrated just that as he stared into her emerald green eyes.

This was the part that Kate especially loved. The part where Castle thought that he'd won their little competition or whatever it was. Some people (like Lanie) had called it flirting. But Beckett knew better than that...or did she? She pushed that thought aside as she strode up to her desk planting both her palms on it while leaning in close to Castle. It took a lot more concentration that it should have to keep her from staring at those gorgeous pink lips of his. There were a couple moments of weekness where she glanced down at them but quickly brought her eyes back up to his blue ones. She was now inches away from his face, close enough to feel his breath on her lips. She held back a shudder. A smile on her lips as she whispered, "That's never stopped you before."

Maintaining her posture for a few more seconds was key. She was being a tease and she knew it. _Just a few more sec—. _

"Yo Beckett. One of our suspect's alibis doesn't..." Esposito trailed off mid sentence as he and Ryan entered the 12th Precinct and saw Writer Boy and Beckett in what seemed to be a very intimate conversation, or even more than a conversation. He and Ryan exchanged looks, unsure whether to go right back into that elevator and give them some space or to continue standing in front of Beckett's desk.

Castle and Beckett maintained their intimate posture but turned their heads to see Ryan and Esposito looking down at them with funny expressions on their faces.

"Should we come back at a better time?" Ryan asked.

"No."

"Yes."

Their answers were simultaneous. Beckett saying "no" and Castle saying "yes". At that exact moment Castle had turned his attention back to Beckett, while she decided that it would be a good time to straighten up. In the process they both ended up bumping each other's foreheads with their own.

Ignoring Castle's cries of pain whilst rubbing his forehead, Beckett focussed her attention on her boys. "Which one?" she asked, curious to find out which one of her suspects had lied.

"Kaitlin Lee," Esposito replied as Ryan handed over her file to her. They continued to exchange looks as well as glances to and from her and writer boy.

"The wife?" Castle asked still rubbing his forehead.

Beckett ignored him and the boys as she thought back to her brief interview with their suspect. Kaitlin had been genuinely upset about the news of her husband's death. She was with her brother at the time of the interview and had said that she had been at work around the time when her husband had been shot. There was no evidence or motive so far to suspect her of the crime but a fake alibi could mean that she was guilty.

"Yeah, we had uniforms check her apartment but it was empty and she's not answering her phone. We got a hit off one of her credit cards 20 minutes ago at one of the convenient stores next door to a hospital," Ryan explained.

"Good work. Have uniforms canvas the area and pick her up for questioning," Beckett ordered.

"We also—"

"On it." Esposito interrupted Ryan, giving him a look with raised eyebrows as he hurried off towards the elevator with a puzzled Ryan following close behind.

Beckett pulled out her chair and sat on it. Her thoughts of why Kaitlin would lie about her whereabouts that night were interrupted by whom else but Castle.

"Ow. Your plan to avoid paper work might have just fallen through Detective Beckett. Wait till I report to the captain how hard we banged."

Beckett slowly looked up from her from her desk at Castle, one eyebrow raised and half a smile forming on her lips. He's triumphant smile was quickly erased as he realized what he'd just said.

"Banged _heads_," Castle paused, "somehow that sounded _way_ dirtier than it did in my head." Beckett shook her head but couldn't help that the smile on her lips was growing wider.

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><p><strong>Please review! Let me know what i can do to improve this story and any ideas you guys have for future chapters!<strong>


	2. A Hunch

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews and feedback! I'm still trying to figure out how write back (since I'm new to all this) :D**

**I'm really hoping to try and keep the two in character, and if anyone has any suggestions that would be great!**

**And just a head's up, I'm thinking of changing the rating (to M) in the future, if the story goes as planned, but you never know. Thanks again!**

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><p>The next day Beckett came in to the precinct looking for Castle. She hadn't been able to reach him on his cell phone to tell him that Kaitlin wasn't the killer. In fact she had a new lead: her brother Mike Lee. But Castle already knew that.<p>

"Detective Beckett! Nice to see you on such a fine morning," Beckett rolled her eyes at Castle as he approached her in the coffee room. "Esposito told me you were looking for me. A couple hours without me and you already miss me. I'm flattered," Castle smiled that gorgeous smile of his.

Beckett put on a stern face. This was no time for meaningless flirting. "I heard you had dinner with our suspect last night," She smiled that fake smile she did when she was getting annoyed.

"I understand missing me. But stalking me too? I don't know whether to continue to feel flattered or creeped out. You know I could have you arrested," He winked trying his best to talk himself out of whatever trouble was in his future.

"Cut the crap Castle."

Castle looked at Beckett. She looked pretty annoyed, hands on her hips and everything. His eyes trailed up from her his and landed at the V in her white V neck t-shirt. There was a tad bit cleavage showing, just enough to distract him from whatever bad thing she thought he'd done.

"Castle?" His name sounded more like a curious yell. Castle immediately lifted his eyes to her face.

"Okay, okay. It's not what you think though," he explained.

"Is it ever? How many times have I told you not to meet with suspects without me?" Beckett raised her voice a little to get her point through and to hope that Castle was actually focussing on what she was saying instead of on her boobs. Yes, she noticed that. Was it wrong of her to like that he noticed? Yes. No. Yes. Maybe she should have worn a sweater.

"I'm sorry, it's just that..."

"Just that what Castle? You know he is our main suspect. Yet you continue to ignore all of rules." Now she was getting annoyed. Couldn't he just admit he was wrong?

"I don't ignore all your rules," Castle paused for a brief moment. "Maybe you shouldn't have so many rules to break." He's voice was still at a normal volume. Beckett's on the other hand was slowly rising out of frustration.

"That's not the point. What were you doing with our suspect?"

"He's a friend of a friend. I don't think he did it."

Now she was getting really agitated. This had happened once before, where Castle was a murder suspects friend and had kept vital information from her. In his defence his friend was cleared of that particular crime but was found guilty of murder on another. "You don't think he did it? Based on what Castle? A hunch?"

Castle was trying to find an excuse, a reason, but Beckett had pretty much nailed it. "Uh, yeah," his words sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Well then, case closed," Kate stated sarcastically, glaring at her partner.

"Kate would you just listen to me," Castle pleaded. "It doesn't make sense."

"It doesn't make sense, or you don't want it to make sense?"

"Beckett, you know that's not true. I've just got a feeling, you know."

She looked at his face. He was really trying to convince her but she needed evidence. Hard evidence. Solid facts. Which she had none. "Castle," her voice much lower now, "I think you should call it a day. You need to clear your head."

The look on her face was enough. He knew he couldn't win, so he walked away just like that.

Beckett was astonished to see him go. He never went that easily. Ever. Not without a fight. Was he okay? Was there something she didn't know about? Maybe he's learnt from experience. The last time they did this, it got pretty heated and didn't end very well. She couldn't think about that now; she had a murder to solve.

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><p>At around 8pm Beckett decided to go home and rest. It had been a long day and she needed her strength for tomorrow. She ordered in some Chinese and went to try on some new clothes that she had bought the other day but hadn't had time to truly decide whether or not to keep them because the case had been keeping her pretty occupied.<p>

She tried on a couple pairs of jeans and two shirts. Leaving the best for last she tried on a small black dress that hugged all the right places showing a lot of leg and a lot of cleavage. She removed the pony tail from her hair and let it fall around her face. Just as she had decided that this dress was definitely a keeper the doorbell rang. Beckett went to grab a jacket but decided against it. What was the harm in wowing a delivery man? Plus if it got no reaction then she'd know that she'd have to make another shopping trip.

She reached for the door smiling, content with her decision. With the door open, she looked up. "Castle?"

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><p><strong>I'm not exactly sure where i'm going with this but i do have an idea. I just hope it sounds as good on paper as it does in my head. <strong>

**The thing i'm really trying to do is keep the two in character. **

**Let me know what you think! I love hearing from you :)**


	3. The Little Black Dress

**So here's Chapter 3. Hope you like it!**

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><p>Castle looked at Beckett astonished at seeing her so, so sexy looking. She was definitely hot in her work clothes. But wearing that dress she was on fire<em>. So much leg, so much cleavage. So much. Wow<em>. Castle tried to get his thoughts together and his eyes up to Beckett's face. It was a struggle. "Uh," he fumbled. It took another thirty seconds for him to say anything else. The only thing he could think of to say was "hi".

"Hi," Beckett replied, secretly pleased at Castle's response. She couldn't have been more glad and sure that she'd made the right decision when she bought the dress. "Castle, what are you doing here?"

"Well," replied Castle, still at a loss for words. "I could ask you the same thing."

Beckett's brows scrunched up, "I live here." Even though it was very much a statement, somehow it also sounded like a question.

Castle fumbled a little more. It was rare of him to be at a loss for words being a writer and all but the situation he was in was also quite rare, so his befuddlement wasn't without warrant. Finally managing to snap out of the trance that Beckett had put on him unconsciously Castle was able to speak, "Oh, uh," he chuckled. "What I meant was that you clean up nice Detective," he said trying to mask the desire in his voice.

Hearing him compliment her was even more rewarding than him eye sexing her as weird as it may sound. She was so caught up in the moment she almost replied "You're not so bad yourself Castle," but that would have sounded way out of place considering that Castle wasn't wearing anything out of the usual. Instead she answered, "Thank you."

An awkward but comfortable moment passed as the two stood staring at each other before Beckett remembered her manners. "Do you want to come in?" She opened the door further allowing Castle to see the rest of her apartment. Of course he'd been there a few times before but it always amazed him as did its owner.

Castle stepped in to her apartment, "Just for a minute." Obviously Beckett had some mystery date whom she was meeting with. He didn't want to interrupt or make her late so he decided to say what he'd come to say and leave even though he was curious as to who this "mystery man" was. There was a chance it was Josh (motorcycle boy) but he hadn't seen or heard about Josh for a while. When it came to the men in his partner's life, he tried not to pry however curious he was.

"I just wanted to apologize, about earlier. I know how things played out last time and I promise to be on my best behaviour." He smiled a genuine smile allowing her to believe that his apology was heartfelt.

She smiled back; she couldn't help it, his smile was contagious, "Don't worry about it."

As Castle turned to leave he looked Beckett up and down once more as discreetly as he could before saying "goodnight" and turning back towards the door. He never got far because he had bumped right into the delivery man causing him to drop the Chinese food he had come to deliver. Nothing had spilled because it was all packaged, thank god.

After muttering sorrys to each other, both men bent down to pick up the food and failed as they banged their heads together. Muttering more sorrys to each other as Castle moved backwards into Beckett's apartment allowing the delievery man to pick up what he had come to deliver. It was quite amusing from where Beckett stood. She was trying her best not to laugh, covering her widened smile with her hand.

Castle saw that she was amused and decided to push his luck some more and maybe even get her to laugh. "I seem to be doing a lot of banging. Maybe you should arrest me Detective."

The delivery man unsure of what he heard and its meaning gave Castle a puzzled look.

Beckett couldn't hold it in any longer. Her cheeks were turning red and the delivery man's reaction was priceless. After letting out a few giggles, she managed to compose herself long enough to pay the poor man standing at her door. She closed the door to her apartment after he left only to hear Castle say "see, I am funny."

Beckett shook her head and rolled her eyes as she turned around to face him.

"You can't say you didn't laugh," Castle defended himself.

She didn't even mean to wind him up, but if she had started why not continue? "I didn't laugh. I giggled. And besides, that guys face was priceless."

"Yeah, because of what _I_ said," pointing to himself as he emphasized the word "I".

"Oh Castle, let it go," another giggle escaped her.

"Just for the record I'd like to state that that indeed was another giggle and that the only other person in this room besides you is me. I'll let you come to your own conclusions," he gestured around the room with one arm in a very dramatic way.

Once again Beckett was forced to hide her smile and roll her eyes.

"So, mystery man likes Chinese?"

It hit Beckett as she was placing the package down on the dining room table that Castle thought she was off to a date. How else could he have explained her appearance?

"No mystery man Castle," it was really hard for her not to smile at his conclusion. She didn't know why but she liked that he was curious.

"Mystery woman then? You know the thought of you and another woman—"

Beckett cut him off before he could say anymore, "Just me Castle, just me." Just then her cell phone went off. "Beckett," she answered. "Oh, okay. We're on our way."

She looked up at Castle, "that was Lanie. There's been a murder."

"What, now?"

"Murder never sleeps Castle."

"Don't we already have a case though?"

"It's Mike Lee."

"Oh," Castle watched as Beckett went into the opposite direction of the front door. "Where you going? I'm pretty sure the murder victim isn't in your room."

"To change Castle. You don't think I'm going to show up dressed like this, do you?" She phraised it more like a statement than a question.

Beckett ran around her house for about five minutes looking for some comfortable thing to wear only to realize that she hadn't done the washing in a while and she somehow managed to misplace the jeans she was wearing earlier that day. Great, she thought. Showing up with Castle and dressed up, she was never going to hear the end of it.

Finally deciding to grab a light knee length coat she hurried out of her apartment with Castle following closely behind grinning from ear to ear as he whispered the answer to her question, "A man can dream, and apparently dreams can come true."

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think! I love hearing from you!<strong>


	4. Reactions

**Thanks for the feedback everybody!**

**I was just reading over my last chapter and I found a couple of mistakes (tenses, spelling, etc.). Sorry about that! I wrote that chapter really late at night and I guess I didn't go over it well enough to catch my mistakes. Hopefully I won't make the same mistakes with this chapter. **

**Oh and sorry about the wait. I've been pretty busy lately, but I promise to try and complete chapters quicker!**

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><p>By the time Beckett and Castle pulled up at the crime scene, Lanie had already taken the body back to the morgue. Beckett blamed Castle for their tardiness. In her opinion if he hadn't showed up at her front door she would have changed into something comfortable, after deciding to keep the dress that she was now trying very hard to hide beneath her coat, ate her Chinese, and maybe even got some reading done before getting that call from Lanie. And once she'd gotten the call she would have had no problem hailing a cab quickly enough to get to the crime scene (the victim's apartment) while the main part of the crime was still present. But no. Castle had to argue with her. She'd tried her very best to convey that taking one cab would look somewhat odd considering the way she was dressed. Castle seemed not to care of what the others would think, actually she could have sworn that he wanted to see a reaction from the rest of their crew by the slight tug at the corners of his lips. Sometimes that man was as stubborn as a button. Why couldn't he just listen to her for once? If he had done so he wouldn't have shown up at her door in the first place. Is it really that hard for him to follow instructions? It was like an ongoing cycle, all her misfortunes occurring from a single act of disobedience committed by the one and only, Castle.<p>

She'd also like to give that cabbie a piece of her mind; maybe even scare him off by showing him her gun. What happened to customers first? Because driving away while two people engaged in a conversation wasn't what she called good service. Okay, so maybe it was a little more than conversation. A disagreement. More like an arguement. She would have won if that cab driver hadn't drove off leaving only one cab for both her and Castle to use. At the back of her mind she wondered if the cab driver and Castle were related. Continually ignoring instructions had to be genetic, right?

She should have taken the remaining cab and drove off without Castle but somehow that felt unjust, seeming as the cab she hailed was the one to bail. Oh well, there's no point in holding a grudge, she thought to herself. What's done is done, although there was no need to forgive Castle straight away. If she had to suffer, why shouldn't he? That and it was amusing to see Castle all wound up.

As soon as Beckett walked into the victims apartment, with a smug Castle following close behind, Esposito and Ryan stood up from where they were crouched to fill their two partners in on what they had missed. The amount of leg that Beckett had showing made them re-evaluate the situation. Was it possible that the boys were the one's in need of filling in?

"What happened?" Beckett spoke as she looked around the trashed apartment ignoring the boy's stares.

"It's seems as though our victim's apartment was broken into while the he was away." Esposito started.

"And when he came back he was given the kick of a lifetime by Bigfoot." The boys bumped fists and shared a quick laugh over Ryan's witty analysis of the events of that day.

"Bigfoot?" Trust that to draw in Castle's undivided attention. Beckett gave both boys a stern but curious look awaiting more information.

"The guy was beaten to death by a large steal toed boot," Esposito explained.

"Ouch. I wonder if the other boot ran for cover." More fist bumps were being exchanged at Castle's joke.

Beckett pursed her lips tight trying to get rid of the smile that was forming on them. She needed to be stern, after all this was a murder victim they were talking about; a human being. Yet, no matter how many times she told herself that, for some reason she still struggled to remove the re-occurring smirk that was creeping up on her tightly pursed lips. Though, she was enjoying the fact that Castle's comment had shifted the boy's attention from her current state of wardrobe.

"Speaking of running..." Esposito's eyes trailed down the length of Beckett's bare legs as he spoke, followed by that of Ryan's, Castle's, and even a couple of other officers gazes at the crime scene who were close enough to hear their conversation.

Great, Beckett though. She retaliated the best way she knew how to and ignored their stares as she continued to ask questions and bark out a few orders here and there. She really didn't want to have to deal with any comments about her appearance just yet, knowing that Lanie was going to drill her on the details later. Picturing her visit to the more, she could see Lanie running tests on the naked dead guy in front of her, yet still managing to direct all her attention at the half clothed live girl standing in front of her with a best-selling author standing loyally by her side. Oh what a day this was going to be.

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><p>Press "review". You know you want to.<p> 


	5. Planting the Seed

Chapter 3 mistake corrected: "Picturing her visit to the MORGUE"... sorry about that.

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><p>"Hey Lanie," Beckett said as she burst through the doors of the morgue. She'd manage to shake Castle off but she knew it would only be a couple of minutes before he was with her again. She hoped that would give Lanie enough to say whatever comments she said about the way she was dressed today.<p>

"Where's writer boy?" Asked Lanie whilst she looked Beckett up and down.

Before Beckett could answer Castle was right beside her. He always did seem to turn up at the most inconvenient of times.

"So any news on the boot that beat the guy to hell?" Castle asked, genuinely interested. He was oblivious to the looks that Lanie was giving them.

Completely ignoring Castle's question, Lanie continued to eye the two live people, other than herself, in the room. "We're on our way, huh?" She said repeating what Beckett had said on the phone earlier. "Didn't know you two hung out between cases and so late in the evening."

"Castle just stopped by to apologize," Beckett said hoping her answer would delay any further questioning. She looked next to her at Castle only to see a smile developing on his face. He was enjoying this a little too much.

"Mhmm. It must have taken a lot of apologies to get you too here so late," Lanie said with a sarcastic edge to her tone as she turned her attention back to the victim.

"You have no idea," Castle's smile grew wider as he turned to look at Beckett.

Beckett rolled her eyes and smiled a little. She didn't bother trying explaining to Lanie that there actually was a lot of sorrys exchanged between the delivery man, Castle, and herself.

"I've got to take this," Castle said just as his phone started ringing. "It's Alexis," he explained as he headed out the door.

Beckett could see Lanie watching her out of the corner of her eye. "What?" She turned her undivided attention to her friend.

"Nothing."

"Spit it out Lanie." It was worse enough that everybody had jumped to their own conclusions about why Beckett was showing a tremendous amount of leg, but to have them deny that they were thinking anything of it was worse.

"You and Writer Boy showing up late to a crime scene and you dressed like that," Lanie paused to emphasize her point.

Beckett took advantage of her pause and interjected, "There's nothing going on."

"And why the hell not? Girl, you gotta get up on that before somebody else does."

Beckett stared at Lanie in disbelief. Did she really just tell her to hook up with Castle? She opened her mouth to speak, but no words exited it. Lanie took that as an opportunity to finish off what she'd started. "Damn girl, I see the way he looks at you. We all see it. You—"

"Sorry about that. Alexis just wanted to, uh, am I interrupting something here?" Castle had just come back into the room only to realize that he'd interrupted a heated discussion. Well that's what he interpreted by the look on the two women's faces...well Lanie's face. Beckett had her mouth open in shock. Not much discussing happening on her side, he guessed.

"No no. Just talking about the case," Beckett smiled at her partner.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Lanie was just talking to me about the murder weapon."

"I thought we already knew—"

"She was just filling me in on the details."

"Okay," Castle continued to look back and forth between the two trying to figure out what was really going on. Eventually he decided to let it go, although the smirk on Lanie's face was not helping his decision.

"And Kate," Beckett turned her head to Lanie just as she and Castle were leaving the morgue. "Think about what I told you, alright girlfriend?"

Beckett rolled her eyes, nodded, and left with Castle right behind her.

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><p>Sorry about the delay, but i wrote 2 chapters to make up for the time! Review!<p> 


	6. Memories & Feelings

**Sorry this chapter is a little short, but i think that with all the information/thoughts going through Beckett's mind it's worth it. You'll see what i mean once you read it. **

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><p>"Told you what?" Castle asked just as he sat in his usual place next to Beckett's desk.<p>

Beckett had also just sat down and had some papers on her desk that she was staring at. "What?" She asked not really focussed on what her partner was saying.

"Lanie said to think about something she told you."

Now Castle had Beckett's undivided attention. She had stopped staring at the papers on her desk and turned to look at him. "Oh that. It was, uh, nothing important." Castle gave her a funny look. It was that look he gave her when he knew she wasn't telling the whole truth.

It wasn't until everyone had left the precinct leaving Beckett alone at 3am did she think about what Lanie had said to her in the morgue_._ She was sitting at her desk when she heard Lanie's voice in her head._ I see the way he looks at you. We all see it._ _You— _That was when they were interrupted by the subject of their conversation. Beckett couldn't help but wonder what her friend was going to say next. _I what?_ She thought about asking Lanie about it later, but she knew that she could never bring herself to ask such a question.

_I see the way he looks at you. We all see it._ How exactly did Mr. Famous Author look at her? Was it any different than the way he looked at his other friends? She made a note to herself to pay closer attention in the future.

Beckett tried to push all her thoughts of Castle away, but Lanie's words and Castle's gorgeous smile kept popping up in her head. All those feelings that she had made herself forget over the summer were rushing back. It had taken everything she had to confess the way she felt to him and accept his invitation to the Hamptons, only to find out that he'd asked someone else. It shouldn't have bothered her. After all, she had refused him initially. How was he supposed to know that she had changed her mind?

Her eyes watered but she didn't allow for a single tear drop. She thought back to the previous year when she had cancelled their little vacation so that she could spend time with _him_ in the Hamptons. It had taken her awhile to get over him, which was surprising since they'd never actually gone out on a single date. She'd moved on with Josh, but that didn't work out either. And now with Lanie planting all these ideas in her head, surely the seeds would bloom and Beckett's heart would be torn apart again.

She buried her face in her hands. _Kate_, she told herself. _There is nothing between you and Castle. You're partners, that's all. You will not go down that path again, all you're going to achieve is a day in bed and a pillow full of tears, not to mention feeling like a complete idiot._

"Kate?" Oh no, oh no, oh no. She had said all of that out loud, hadn't she? Oh no. And of course he'd heard. Or maybe he hadn't? She hadn't even heard him come in. Oh no. She couldn't take any chances. She needed a plan. She could pretend she had dozed off and had said all that in her sleep. Yeah, that could work. But wait. That would mean she wouldn't remember anything and he would remember all of it, if he'd heard any of it at all. There was an upside to that. But what if he started acting weird around her? No, that wouldn't be good. And she could never say anything because she wasn't supposed to know that she'd said anything worth remembering in the first place. It would kill her to know something but pretend to not know it, all the while having him possibly know it too. Pretend talking in her sleep was a bad idea, she concluded. She would never know if he knew, but did she really want to know? Maybe not. Wait, of course she wanted to know! She could act like nothing happened, but she was stronger than that. Or was she? Of course she was. She was going to act calm, and collected. Maybe she'd act a little dazed and surprised. It wouldn't even have to be an act because she wasn't expecting him to be there. Basically she was going to act normal. Maybe she'd ask him if he heard anything and maybe she wouldn't. All she knew was that she needed to stop thinking about the situation and say something.

"Castle? What are you doing here?" She looked up from her hands to see a beautiful pair of concerned blue eyes staring down at her.

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><p>I hope you like what i've done with the story so far. I'm sorry if i'm killing you cause i haven't got the two of them together yet, but hopefully i'll get there soon. I just thought it would be interesting to bring up her (Kate) breaking up with Tom because of Castle since we never really went there this season. I'm not sure what the next chapter is going to be like, so bear with me.<p>

Anyways, review please!


	7. Concealing Emotions

**Thanks so much for all the reviews! You've all got me smiling like an idiot after I read them :P.**

**I know this is a really short chapter, but i couldn't think of a way to make it longer without it dragging on. I'm hoping this will be the last short chapter I write for awhile *fingers crossed*. Enjoy!**

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><p>"Why Detective Beckett, aren't you happy to see me?" Castle Joked. "I just thought I'd drop by with some Chinese since you weren't able to eat earlier."<p>

Beckett felt her cheeks turn red so she turned her head back towards the papers on her desk in hopes that he hadn't seen her blush. "Oh. Thank you," she smiled as she spoke. From the corner of her eye she saw her partner sit down in his usual seat next to hers and put the bag of take-out on her desk. She turned to face him again hoping that the redness had faded from her cheeks. She reached for the bag that he'd just got her and while she opened it she was just about to speak but Castle beat her to it. "Are you okay? You seemed kind of upset. It's not often that I hear you talking to yourself about something other than a case."

Beckett's head shot in his direction as quick as a lightning bolt. "What?"_ Oh god. He heard. And he's smiling, well smirking actually. What's funny? Why is it funny? I can't believe I said that aloud. I don't understand how anything I said is funny in any way? If anything it's pretty pathetic. Oh god, maybe he's laughing because I'm pathetic. No, that can't be it. He's not smiling anymore. He's giving me that sympathetic look. Why do I need sympathy? Maybe I really am pathetic. _These were just some of the thoughts running through her mind.

"You said something about a partner. Don't worry though, I didn't hear much. It's just, I don't mean to pry but you just looked so..." Castle's voice trailed off as he searched Beckett's face for an answer. She was conveying so many emotions; it was hard to keep up. He could tell that she was trying her best to stay composed but he knew better. A rush of confusion, disbelief, and shock snuck through her composed facade. There was one other emotion that he couldn't quite get a read on. It almost looked like fear. Whatever was bothering her was something that she wanted to keep secret; he could see it in all over her face and from the way she'd reacted when he'd told her he'd heard some of what she said. He also could tell that it was something of great importance to her_. Let me in Kate, let me in_. But he knew that from the look in her eyes that he would have no such luck.

"You... What?" No matter how hard she tried, Beckett couldn't seem to think of anything else to say.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything. Like I said I didn't hear much so you have nothing to worry about. I just want to make sure you're okay." Although it killed Castle that he couldn't comfort Kate, he didn't pry. He'd learnt that the hard way when he interfered with her mom's case a couple of years ago. There was no way he was going to make that mistake again. Kate was his friend, and if she needed anything he was there for her and Castle was sure she knew that. So he had to conclude that whatever was going on or whoever this 'partner' was there was nothing to be worried about, at least that's what he was trying so very hard to convince himself of. But that last flash of emotion on her face was making it ever so hard.

Beckett only realized that she was holding her breath when she ex-haled. "I'm fine." And that was that. She'd answered his question and he'd answered the many questions she had floating around in her head. He hadn't heard his name, and it seemed as though he had no idea what her words had meant. His concern for her was touching and meant a great deal but Beckett didn't have time to dwell on that; there was a murder to solve, actually there were two.

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><p><strong>Sorry about the ending guys, but I promise that the next chapter will make up for that. I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head right now and they all involve Castle. Hint: there's going to be a nice talk between mother and son. I don't want to say too much, but hopefully that'll keep you coming back to read the next chapter!<strong>

**Let me know you're thoughts on this chapter! Hearing from you all makes my day**


	8. A Mother Knows

**Sorry this took so long. I've been wanting to write for a long time but I've been really busy with work.**

**Anyways here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

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><p>It wasn't until about 8am that Castle got home. After his little talk with Beckett they had managed to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and solved the murder. Now their only problem was finding the murderer. It appeared the man had skipped town, but Beckett was certain uniforms would pick him up later that day.<p>

_Speaking of Beckett, what was all that "partner" talk about anyways? _Castle walked over to the fridge to pour himself a quick cup of coffee. Alexis had already left for school and Martha, well Martha was out doing whatever Martha did, or so he thought.

Castle took his cup with him to the living room and made himself comfortable on the couch. As he sipped his coffee he couldn't help but replay what Beckett had accidently said out loud in his mind. _You're partners, that's all. You will not go down that path again, all you're going to achieve is a day in bed and a pillow full of tears, not to mention feeling like a complete idiot._

What did she mean? And why did he care? He should've let it go and he knew that, but there was something about what she said that bothered him.

"Hey kiddo, how'd the case go? Did you catch the killer?" Martha walked into the living room and sat beside her son. Apparently Castle did not have the house to himself as he'd thought earlier.

"Hello mother. Yes and no actually. It turns out that Mike Lee had a twin brother who was adopted. He killed the first victim out of jealousy and the second one to cover up the first. But we haven't actually caught him yet." Castle could hear himself speak but his mind was elsewhere.

"Oh, well I'm sure Detective Beckett will catch him. She's a smart woman." Martha paused to stare at her son who was deep in thought. "Oh, I know that look," she said.

"Hmm, what look?" Castle replied, still lost in thought.

"Don't play dumb with me, kiddo." A thought occurred to Martha and her face became a concerned one. "Oh Richard, please don't tell me that you're looking into her mother's murder again. Just because she forgave you once doesn't mean she'll do it again you know."

Castle snapped back to reality and turned his attention to his mother. "What? No. No. Why would you even think that?"

"Like I said kiddo, you've got that look."

"It's just something Beckett said, that's all."

"Hmm," Martha nodded knowingly. "Heard something you weren't supposed to?" Even though she meant it very much as a statement it ended up sounding more like question.

"Mmm, I might've walked in at a certain moment when a certain detective was thinking aloud."

"Go on," Martha gestured with her hand for Castle to continue.

"She might've been trying to convince herself that someone was just her partner, and nothing more."

"Ohhh."

Castle looked at his mother expectantly, "What?"

Martha smiled sympathetically and at her naive son. "Oh Richard," she patted his knee.

Castle looked and felt more puzzled than ever. "What?" And then it hit him. "Wait, you think..?" He didn't know why he even bothered asking; it was written all over her face.

"Who else does she call her partner?" Martha simply asked, answering all the questions he'd asked himself over and over in his head.

"Maybe a boyfriend?" Castle asked hopefully. He had a feeling that he was the subject of Beckett's solo conversation from the start but dismissed the idea when he took the rest of what she said into consideration. _You will not go down that path again, all you're going to achieve is a day in bed and a pillow full of tears, not to mention feeling like a complete idiot._ It didn't make sense. How and when could he have caused her so much pain? And why? He had hoped that she was talking about an ex-boyfriend not only because it made sense, but also in hopes that the guilt he felt for causing her to shed tears proved to be misguided.

"You've been with this woman for almost 3 years. Have you ever heard her call her boyfriend her partner?" She gave his knee a quick squeeze for moral support.

Castle thought long and hard before reaching a conclusion. "No, but..." He stumbled trying to find another explanation.

Martha sent another sympathetic smile in his direction, got up, and headed for the kitchen to prepare something to eat.

"Well what do I do mother? Should I ask her about it?"

"Oh for heaven's sake no. If she wanted you to know you wouldn't be sitting her asking me." Martha opened the freezer and took some frozen waffles out.

"Well?"

Martha placed the frozen waffles in the microwave to defrost before she toasted them and then turned to face her son. "Have I taught you nothing at all? She's a woman. Chances are if something is bothering her somebody else will know about it."

"Hmm, I never thought of it that way. But what if she didn't tell anyone? Beckett is a pretty private person."

"Trust me Richard, somebody's got to know. All you've got to do is find out who. But the bigger question is finding out if you really want to know because we both know that there's more to this situation then you're letting on."

"Wait, how'd you..?" A shocked Castle asked.

"A mother knows," was all that Martha said before she carried on making her breakfast.

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><p><strong>So here's the little talk between Martha and Castle. I'm hoping I portrayed Martha right. <strong>

**Make me happy and comment! **


	9. Paperwork & Coffee

**Hey guys, thanks for the amazing feedback! I'm sorry I've kept you waiting AGAIN. But here's the next chapter. So don't hate me too much ;). **

**Btw you probably noticed that I changed the rating to T instead of K+. Just a precaution, although there's nothing really explicit in this chapter.  
><strong>

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><p>Castle looked at the time and it read 6:03 pm. He and Beckett had just finished interrogating their suspect (who was picked up by uniforms a couple of hours ago) and had tricked him into confessing. Now Castle was sitting at his usual spot next to Beckett at her desk watching her do paper work. He yawned.<p>

Beckett turned to face him and raised her eyebrows playfully, "You know Castle, if I'm boring you maybe you should do something constructive." She paused pretending to think, "What is it that you do for a living? Hmm. Oh yeah, you write. How would you like to 'write' this report for me?"

"Ha. Ha. Very funny Detective. As much as I'm tempted to take you up on that offer, I think I'd rather make some coffee with that lovely cappuccino machine that a certain writer was so kind in buying for the precinct. Quite a gentleman, wouldn't you say?" And with that Castle got up and walked off in the direction of the break room grinning from ear to ear.

Beckett's eyes followed him as he walked away. When he was out of sight she turned back to her work, shook her head slightly while the smile on her lips grew wider. Boy did that man know how to lift her mood if only with a few words. She tried to erase the smile that was now plastered on her face and get back to work but all thoughts Castle were filling her mind. It didn't even matter that her face actually hurt from smiling so big, she could do nothing to remove it. _Kind of like Castle_, she thought. No matter how hard she tried to get rid of him or push him away he was always there; like a rock. _Her_ rock.

If it was possible her smile widened and she placed her right elbow on her desk and leaned on her hand. She looked up at nothing in particular and her thoughts started to drift back to the day Castle had invited her to the Hamptons. _No funny stuff_, he'd said. _Just a friendly getaway._ She couldn't help but wonder for the hundredth time what it would have been like, having Castle all to her self in a large cottage that overlooked a large and inviting body of water. A body of water that they might have even swam in together. She would have definitely wore her black string bikini with the small diamond located in the space between her breasts. After all that was the swimming suit that she favoured, not to mention the skimpiest one of her collection and there were a couple of other very skimpy ones in that collection. She imagined what Castle's reaction would be if he saw her in it. She never really had time to see his reaction in L.A. since she was only dressed up - or dressed down - to catch a criminal. But she had caught him staring a couple of times.

Just thinking about it got her feeling all warm. She was sure that she was blushing but she didn't bother to hide it. If she'd said yes to his request would she have woken up to the smell of bacon and sausages? Probably. She could almost smell it now. What was it about a man who cooked that attracted the ladies? And then the image of Gina, Castle's ex-wife and publisher, popped into her head. It was the image of the both of them walking away arm in arm. Gina walking away with Castle. With _her _rock. _Her _writer. _Her _partner. Her smile was quickly transforming into a frown and her brows furrowed.

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><p>Castle started brewing the coffee and closed his eyes as he took in the rich scent of this heavenly drink.<p>

"Castle."

Castle jumped up, frightened by the unexpected interruption. He tried to compose himself as Esposito stared at him smirking. "I hear that the ladies call coffee orgasmic. Maybe you should have a special chat with Beckett about that." Esposito tried his best to keep himself from laughing as he spoke. There were countless times that he had seen Beckett have that same facial expression that Castle wore while pouring a cup of coffee; one of thirst and desire.

"I was... Uh, I... I just..." It took a moment for what Esposito had said to sink in. "Ha Ha, yeah okay, very funny. Maybe _I _should have a special chat with Lanie about that. Just think about it; more time with Coffee for her and more nights alone for you." Castle grinned evilly.

"You wouldn't."

Castle shrugged his shoulders to which Esposito shook his head. "Not cool bro, not cool."

Castle poured three cups of coffee with great care, the extra one for Esposito.

"So, case's closed," Esposito said watching Castle as he delicately stirred the first cup of coffee.

"Yep."

"And you're still here..?"

"Just thought I'd help Beckett with the paper work."

"And by help you mean...watch her?"

Castle turned his head to Esposito and smiled sarcastically, "You can mock me all you want, but believe it or not I am very, _very_ helpful."

"Mhmm," was Esposito's only remark when Castle handed him a cup.

Castle left the other two cups on the table and turned his undivided attention to Esposito. "Esposito, have you noticed anything, uh, strange going on with Beckett?"

"What do you mean?" He took the first sip of his coffee and murmured a low "mmm".

"You know," Castle shifted awkwardly. "If she's been upset at all or maybe even, uh, you know..cried?"

"What?" Esposito put his own coffee on the table. "Beckett upset and crying? You didn't go snooping through her mother's case file again? Cause if you did bro, you are on your own."

"No!" Castle exclaimed in a hushed voice. "Why does everybody jump to that conclusion?"

"Track record maybe?"

Castle glared at his friend and got back to his original point, "maybe about something personal. Possibly over a guy..?"

"Hmmm," Esposito stopped to think. "That would have to be the day she broke up with Demming."

Disgust and jealousy dominated Castle's facial expression as he heard that name. Demming. _Schlemming_. He didn't know why but there was something about that guy that he just didn't like. The man had never done any harm to him personally, actually he'd been nothing but nice. There was just something that he didn't like... And of course it had nothing to do with the fact that he had managed to snake his favourite female Detective friend out from underneath him. Or did it?

Castle re-thought what Esposito had just said. "The day _she _broke up with Demming." A small wave of satisfaction swept over him. Beckett had broken up with him, _she _had ended it. His mind then rushed to the why. Maybe his mother was wrong and Schlemming was the "partner" Beckett was talking about. Well he was her partner in the boyfriend sense even that may have been a while ago, but he also helped her solve a case. Did that qualify him as a partner in the work sense? Maybe he had asked to her to re-consider her decision to end it with him. The satisfaction Castle was feeling had suddenly been replaced with anger. He wished so bad that he could erase him out of Kate's life just as he had on paper._ If only it were that easy_, he thought.

"When did that happen?" Castle asked still deep in thought. He was mentally preparing himself for the guilt that he would feel knowing that Beckett had to go through the break up alone while he was in the Hamptons.

"The day you left to the Hamptons, right before you left," Esposito said simply as he studied Castle's face. As soon as he saw his surprised look he knew he shouldn't opened his mouth.

"What? Why?" Castle demanded. The pain and guilt that he felt for being in town _and_ not being able to comfort Kate was... There was not a word in the english language that he could use to describe what he was feeling.

"Oh, no. No, no. Lanie is going to kill me. I thought she told you bro. I thought maybe you guys talked and figured things out. Oh, no. If Beckett hears one word about this..."

"Figured what out?" Castle was still very much confused.

"Na ah, I'm not saying another word. Sorry man, but I'd really like to live. And if Beckett found out I'd be dead. Worse than dead. She'd put me in lock up. Not to mention Lanie..."

"Why?" It was all Castle could think to ask. He wasn't refering to why Beckett would kill him, but why hadn't Beckett told him about her break up, why he didn't notice her distress. He was having a hard time putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, especially since some of the pieces were still missing.

"Na ah, bro. I was never here." Esposito picked up his cup and handed it to Castle and then walked out of the break room as fast as he could leaving a confused Castle behind.

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><p><strong>Review. Review. REVIEW. :D<strong>


	10. A Day's End

Just before I start this chapter I'd just like to say a special thanks to LittleLizzieZentara who gave me some idea on how to go about Chapter 9. Thanks .

& sorry again about the delay. It seems that everytime i post a chapter i apologize about that, haha.

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><p>Beckett was still staring at the paperwork on her desk. Castle had just left to make them coffee, so that she'd be able to actually focus, which she was having a hard time doing. She started to reflect on her thoughts for the past couple of days. There was something very different about the way she was thinking about her partner lately. She had secretly crushed on him, before she knew him anyway. After all he was Richard Castle, the sexy mystery writer. And he was just so charming. But why now? She'd worked with him for three years and all of the sudden this was happening now? Okay, she did have moments where she'd wonder if, you know, they ever hooked up. But those were just fleeting moments that never really meant anything. Even after she refused to go to the Hamptons with him, it took her sometime but she had gotten over it. She'd found Josh, and she was happy for a while. But now..? Was it because she was feeling lonely or was it because the two of them were finally single?<p>

Beckett cleared her thoughts and tried again to focus on her work. It was taking Castle longer than usual to make coffee and she was becoming impatient and fidgety.

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><p>Castle finally made his way over to Beckett's desk with two cups of coffee in hand. He was still trying to figure out exactly what Esposito had just said. It didn't make sense yet. Why would Kate discuss her break up with Tom with him? Everyone knew she was pretty private about things like that, even Esposito. What does the timing of their break up have to do with him? Yes, it was kind of odd that she ended it with Schlemming just before they were supposed to go away together but she probably had a very good reason for it. Yet, the way Esposito put it, it seemed as though Castle was included somewhere in her reasoning. It all just didn't add up.<p>

"Thanks," Beckett said as she reached out and took the cup of coffee that Castle handed her before he sat in his seat. "You okay Castle?"

Castle jumped a little at the sound of his name. "Hmm?" he asked not yet realizing what Beckett had just asked. "Oh yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay. You just look a little confused." Beckett's face changed from a look of concern to one of mockery as she said, "Don't tell me you blew up the coffee machine again..."

Castle looked up at the stunning brunette and faked a laugh at her reference to the time where he had thought he'd blown up the expresso machine due to the curse that he believed he'd been under. "Very funny detective. Mock me all you want, but don't be cruel to the expresso machine."

Beckett raised her eyebrow in question at his last remark. "You called it a 'coffee' machine," Castle said in a matter-of-fact way.

Beckett rolled her eyes at him, looked down at her work, shook her head slowly, and while smiling she muttered, "you and your coffee machine."

"What was that Detective Beckett?" Once again there was an eye role from Kate. "Nothing," she replied. Oh how she loved to tease him.

"You know—"

"Don't bother."

"But—"

"Focus Castle, focus." By that time both of them were smiling but Beckett was having better luck at hiding hers.

"Wait. What exactly am I supposed to be focussing on?" That was Castle's way of asking Beckett if she needed any help.

"Just drink your coffee Castle."

"See? You've done it again!"

"What?" Beckett turned her head and looked at him waiting for an explanation.

"Mistaking this foamy richness for coffee," he explained pointing at his mug as he spoke.

Beckett's hand was now hiding her smile from him as she tried to focus on her paperwork, again.

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><p>A couple hours later Beckett looked down at her watch to find out that it was 9:36 pm and she still wasn't quite done her work.<p>

Castle, noticing her glancing down at her wrist, offered once again to help, "You know, you don't have to finish this all on your own. I'm not completely useless."

"Are you sure about that?" She joked. It seemed that the last three hours had carried on just like where there conversation was about to go; Castle would offer his help, Beckett would poke fun at him, and they would continually joke and flirt until the cycle was repeated. Even though it was more or less a waste of time, Beckett couldn't think of anything she'd rather be doing at that moment. She knew that if she'd been alone she'd probably have finished her work in an hour, maybe less. But she could use the company, and she thought that Castle seemed to be enjoying himself, so there was no harm done. Well, except if her paperwork wasn't completed by the next morning, then there'd be some harm done. But other than that, at that moment, everything was perfect.

"That's it. I'm just going to have to show you how useful I really am." Castle smiled that goofy smile of his.

The wording of his statement caught Kate's attention more than it should have. She blushed a little as she looked at him, her mouth forming a small "o". Castle caught wind of what she thought that he had meant. "...how useful I am at tackling paper work. Don't get too excited now Detective. Unless you'd like to take this somewhere more private..?"

As if on cue, she rolled her eyes but she couldn't take her eyes off his lips. Every time she looked at his lips she'd wonder how it would be to kiss him. And every time she thought of kissing him, she was reminded by the kiss she shared with him in the parking lot not too long ago. They had done it while they were undercover. She was just about to pull out her gun on the lookout who wasn't buying their acting when Castle grabbed hold of her face and kissed her, slowly but with great urgency, and she had reciprocated with a great deal of enthusiasm. She remembered wanting more when he had pulled away; probably surprised that she hadn't twisted his ear or maybe even slapped him. Actually her actions had surprised the both of them. But that didn't stop her from locking her lips with his once again, but this time for much longer yet not long enough. At that moment it was though nothing else in the world mattered except the way Richard Castle intertwined his tongue with hers. The kiss was full of so much eagerness on both sides, and Kate remembered wanting so much more. But just when she was about to lose herself completely she had remembered that this was an undercover job and that's when she bashed the lookout over the head with her gun, ending the intimacy between herself and her partner. Of course Castle being, well, Castle had to make a comment. _That was amazing_, he'd said as though he'd read her mind. He was right; it really was amazing but it was also so wrong. She was with Josh at the time. Even though that kiss may have just saved Ryan and Esposito's lives it didn't sit well with her. She wasn't the kind of girl to cheat plus she'd loved Josh and a small part of her still did. But he was never there and things, well, they just fell apart.

Beckett's thoughts drifted back to Castle. She wanted their first kiss to be special and not to end in her banging some guy over the head with her gun, although she would have no problem if it ended with Castle banging her with his gun. Now that would most definitely be a great ending to just about anything.

Her lips slowly formed a smile at the thought. She looked up and realized that she had just lost herself in a moment about Castle's _lips_. What was wrong with her? And in the precinct too? _Thank god in reality it was only a couple of seconds_, she thought silently. If Castle noticed he didn't show it. Instead he yawned and did a little stretch.

"I'm going to call Alexis and make sure she's home," He took out his phone and started looking through his contacts for his daughter.

"You know you can actually go home and check on her in person."

"And leave you all alone in this dark and lonely precinct? Who will protect you if a bad guy breaks loose?"

"My gun."

"Hmm. Fair enough. I'll see you tomorrow Detective. Don't work too hard."

"Hah! You already made sure of that. Night Castle." And with that Castle grabbed his coat off of the back of his chair, and walked towards the elevator.


	11. The Morgue

**So this chapter is really short, i mean really really short but i had to put it up anyways. Enjoy!**

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><p>Castle got into the elevator, but instead of going home he decided to pay Lanie a visit in the morgue. He was sure that she had already left, but decided to take the chance and check anyway.<p>

"If you're trying to sneak up on, it ain't going to work," as soon as he heard her voice and saw her appear from behind a shelf he was glad he did.

"Hey Lanie, you're here late." He watched as she cleaned different instruments.

"So are you," she raised her eyebrows at him questioningly without stopping what she was doing.

"Yeah, I was helping Beckett with paper work and I just thought I'd drop by and say hello."

"If that's the story you're sticking with..."

"What?"

"You're here looking for Kate, aren't you?"

"What? No. I was just with her like I said." Castle took a moment to think about what she had just said. "Why would I look for her down here?"

"You tell me." One side of her mouth was titled upwards into a half-smile like she knew something she wasn't supposed to.

"Huh? I think you've been hanging out with corpses for too long."

"Mhmmm," again she paused to give him a look like she knew some kind of secret that he was supposedly keeping from her. "So what are you _really_ here for?"

"Why is it so hard to believe that I've come to visit my favourite medical examiner?"

"At ten o'clock. Please." She didn't even look up at him while she spoke.

Castle looked at her innocently wondering exactly how he was going to get out of her what he wanted.

After a moment of silence he gave in, "I wanted to ask you something about Beckett."

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><p><strong>Sorry about the cliffhanger ending... I have some of the next chapter already written up, it just needs tweaking so hopefully i'll upload it soon. <strong>

**Anyways let me know what you think & comment! **


	12. Successfully Stupid

**It took me quite a while to think up this chapter, so I hope it lives up to your expectations!**

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><p>"Please Lanie." Castle had just finished explaining everything he knew about the situation to her including what he'd heard Beckett say aloud to herself.<p>

"Not a chance."

"Why not?"

Lanie ignored his question altogether and decided to ask one of her own, "how exactly did you find out about her break-up?"

"Esp-uh, um, a little birdy told me," he fumbled.

"Mhmm."

"I just want to know what I did wrong, and what her breakup had to do with me," he raced, hoping that the slip of his tongue would be forgotten.

"Boy, _slow_ down. What the hell does this have to do with Beckett being upset now?"

"The thing I told you about the partner; when I heard her talking to herself," Castle explained quickly growing more and more impatient.

"You have got to stop doing that."

"What?"

"Listening in on people. If Kate knew—"

"Yeah I know. She'd kill me; I get it. But—"

"But what?" It was Lanie's turn to cut Castle off.

"I need to know what I did so I can fix it."

"Wait, so you're thinking..." She paused for a moment and looked at the man across from her. She nodded slowly as if she suddenly understood what was going on.

"What?"

She smiled and raised her eyebrows as she spoke, "You think you're the 'partner'." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Uh," Caste ran a hand threw his hair. "Yeah, uh, I mean, uh, maybe? It's, uh, I mean it's not entirely impossible." He shrugged, his hand never leaving his hair as he spoke.

"You know, I'm starting to understand how you might've become a bestseller," she said more to herself than to him.

"S-s-so I'm right?" He stuttered wide eyed and hopeful.

"Now, not so much," she said in regards to her earlier comment.

"Lanie," he nagged.

"What?" She shrugged, "Just trying to figure out how the hell you manage to solve the mysteries in your books if you can't solve the ones staring you right in the face."

"What?" That was the third time he'd asked that, and he was really starting to get annoyed with that word. "Because I wrote them. And this is not a mystery; this is Beckett."

She gave him a pointed look.

"Okay, maybe she is a mystery," he mumbled quickly. "But how does that have anything to do with my books?"

"How the hell _did_ you become a bestselling author?"

"Uh, I wrote good books?" He wasn't sure if he was more annoyed or confused. "What does this have to do with Beckett?"

"Everything writer boy, everything."

"Wh-uh-huh? Well can you help me figure it out?"

"You slept with her."

Castle nearly jumped up in surprise. That was most definitely not the answer he was expecting. "W-w-what?"

"In your first book. Page 105. Remember?" She still hadn't gotten around to reading the second one yet although she had a feeling that there was another sex scene in there.

Castle didn't realize he was holding his breath until he exhaled. "Oh. Yeah, that," he laughed nervously. After a moment he realized what he'd just said and tried to correct it, "Actually that was Jameson Rook and Nikki Heat who, uh, who aren't real. No, no, um. They're, uh, they're...they're pure fiction." His voice started off sounding confident but faltered towards the end as he become subject to a demanding stare from Lanie.

"Did you sleep with her?"

"No!"

"Didn't think so," she said sounding quite disappointed.

"W-why?" Castle was suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

"Boy, I'mma slap you."

"Uh?" It took a moment for Castle to gather his thoughts, but when he did he got straight back to the initial question that brought him to the morgue in the first place, "where did I go wrong?" He took his hand out of his hair and hoped for an answer that actually answered his question.

"Inviting Beckett to the Hamptons was a big doo doo." Lanie gave up. The man was oblivious and definitely needed her help.

"The Hamptons? But she said no, plus she was going to some cottage with Schlemming."

Lanie raised her eyebrow at the nickname Castle had given Beckett's ex but chose to ignore it for now. "And then she broke up with him."

"Yeah, I know that."

"Mhmmm..." She encouraged him to go on.

"What does her break up have to do with me and the Hamptons?" Lanie watched as a light bulb lit up in his head. "Wait, she broke up with him so she could go to the Hamptons with me?"

"Well it's good to know that you've still got some brains left in that writer head of yours."

Castle wasn't even listening to her anymore, he was caught up in his own thoughts. _When Beckett pulled me aside after the case she was wanted to tell me something but she never really got to it because Gina interrupted us_, his mind was racing. _Was she going to tell me that she'd changed her mind?_ _Was she going to ask to accompany me to the Hamptons?_

"Now that was the worst idea I've ever heard; inviting your ex-wife to the Hamptons for the summer... What is wrong with you boy? I should've smacked you and miss publisher."

_You're partners, that's all. You will not go down that path again, all you're going to achieve is a day in bed and a pillow full of tears, not to mention feeling like a complete idiot_. That's what she had said. "I'd made her feel like an idiot because I invited Gina and she broke up with Schlemming to be with me."

"Mhmm. What took you so long?"

Castle turned to Lanie vaguely aware of all the comments she had made, "Thank you Lanie. I wouldn't have figured this out with you."

"Damn right you wouldn't have and it would have stayed that way if Esposito had kept his mouth shut. But I'm glad he didn't because you two lovebirds are so blind!"

"I never admitted that it was Esposito who told me anything. Just that there might've been a little birdy helping me out, remember?"

"Mhmm."

"Thanks again, really. I owe you one." He turned around and headed for the door.

"You bet your ass you do. And where do you think you're going?"

"To find to Beckett," he stopped and turned back around.

"Hah! Boy, are you crazy?" When she saw that he was dead serious she decided to take a more direct route, if you will. "If you breathe one word of this to Beckett you'll be my next patient."

"Uh, I...Um..."

"Use that writer brain of yours and make up something believable."

"Like what?"

"Do I look like a writer to you?"

"No, but—"

"But nothing. Now get your ass out of my morgue and find your girl."

"Yes ma'am."

Just as he started walking again Lanie called after him, "believable Castle."

"Huh?" He paused and turned around once again.

"The story. It better be believable."

"Oh. Yeah." He was heading towards the door for the second time.

"Cause if it ain't, I'll make sure it comes back to bite you in the ass," she called after him.

"Don't worry, I make up stories for a living. She won't suspect a thing," she heard Castle yell.

"Mhmm," she responded although she was sure he was out of earshot. It was a good thing too because her voice was no longer threatening, instead her tone conveyed nothing but joy.

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><p><strong>Review! :D<strong>


	13. Midnight

**Thanks for all the feedback everybody, I really appreciate all of it! :)**

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><p><em>The beach was not very busy that day although the sun shone bright in the clear blue sky. A family of three sat on towels in the sand somewhere in the space between their cottage and the water.<em>

"_Mommy, I want to go swimming _now_," Little Katie demanded while tugging on Johanna Beckett's dress. _

_Her mother laughed at her very determined daughter and pointed to a life jacket lying on the sand next to them, "only if you let Daddy zip you up."_

"_Fine." Katie reached for the jacket and waited till her father zipped her up. Then she waddled to the shallow end and slowly stepped in the water. It was cold and she squirmed a little before walking further until she was standing knee high in it. She dug her toes deeper into the sand beneath her and looked over her shoulders to see two figures walking towards her. She smiled at them, "Look at me!" She splashed her parents as the drew nearer. Soon enough the three of them were laughing and splashing happily when Katie heard it; a high pitched noise. She stopped splashing and stood still waiting to hear the noise again. Her parents' curious looks turned to worried ones as they watched her concentrate. "What's the matter honey?" Her mother asked. But before little Katie could answer, her parents were gone. She looked around frightened and unsure of what had just happened. Slowly the water beneath her turned to nothing, and she could no longer see the cottage or the beach. She was surrounded by nothing yet she could still hear the strange high pitch noise. _

A groggy Beckett got out of bed. Who the hell was at her door at this time of night? She pulled her robe off of the hook on the back of her bedroom door and wrapper it around herself. She opened her bedside drawer and pulled out her gun. Walking slowly to the door she let out a frustrated sigh as she looked through the peep-hole. Glancing at her watch to see that it was indeed midnight she quickly opened the door.

"Castle? Is everything alright?" She stepped aside and ushered him into her apartment as she thought up of all the worst possible scenarios that would cause her partner to end up on her doorstep at that time of night.

"Not really," Castle looked at the couch as if waiting for Beckett to allow him to sit, which she did with a gesture of her hand. From Beckett's point of view, this quite strange; usually Castle did as he pleased and made himself at home in a giffy. _Something must be terribly wrong_, she concluded.

"Is it Alexis?" She knew the one thing he cared about most in his life was his teenage daughter. If something was wrong or he just needed a little help it wasn't rare for him to ask her for advice because they both knew that the girl looked up to her, not to mention the fact that she had no real mother figure in her life. Martha, Richard's mother who was currently living with the two of them, was a completely different story; even though she did a great job of looking after Alexis she played the role of the crazy but cool grandmother all too well. As she thought of all of this, Beckett sat on the couch next to Castle but left quite a big gap in-between them, her body slightly turned so that she was facing him.

At the mention of his daughter's name Castle jumped up a little, surprised that Beckett would bring his daughter up. "What? Why? Did she say anything to you?"

Now it was Beckett's turn to look surprised, "No. I just thought that with you being here at this time of night..." Her voice trailed off as she started to realize that this visit might not be as important or urgent as she thought.

"Oh," a dumfounded looked crossed his face as he put two and two together. "I just wanted to talk."

"Now? Do you realize what time it is?" She got up and headed towards the kitchen.

"I know it's late but—"

"Castle it's _midnight_," her voice revealed that she was a little agitated. She poured herself a stiff drink and stood facing her kitchen cabinets as she drained the glass.

"I know. It's just that—well—I thought... Maybe I should go," He started to rise off of the couch.

He was hurting, she could tell. His pain may not have been life threatening but it was there behind those blue eyes. And she had made him hurt a little more with her words and their implications. Sure she was annoyed at him for waking her up. But the more she thought about it she decided that it was sweet, sweet of him to feel comfortable enough to wake her up in the middle of the night just to talk, sweet of him to come over instead of just calling, sweet that he trusted _her_ and wanted _her_ input, sweet that he'd thought to come to _her_ and no one else, sweet that he'd thought of her at all. She turned to face him and shook her head a little as if trying to erase her previous words. Her eyebrows were scrunched together in concern, her lips pursed, and eyes glassy. "No. Stay."

Not knowing what to say, Castle sank back down into the couch and watched as she poured another glass, walked over to him, and handed it to him. He murmured a thank you and took a sip as she sat back down in the same position she was sitting minutes earlier, still leaving that distance between them.

Kate watched and waited as her guest took a sip of his drink, "What's up Castle?" She asked softly.

_Where to begin?_ Castle thought to himself. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many things he wanted to ask, but most of all he just wanted to reach out and hug her. His intention was to steer clear of scaring her off so he decided to play it safe. "I just wanted to say thank you for everything," he paused for a moment and Beckett's mind raced. _You came all this way at this time of night to say thank you?_ She so badly wanted to say that aloud but stopped herself. There was something he wasn't telling her and she wished she could shake it out of him. But she didn't dare. If there was one thing she'd learnt from her job, do not under any circumstance rush someone trying to explain something difficult. A couple of questions here and there were fine, but anything that would stress the person out further was to be avoided.

"I mean it," Castle continued. "Thanks for putting up with me and letting me follow you around—"

"It wasn't my idea," she interrupted him briefly and laughed lightly at the memory.

He smiled at her and added a little loudly, "even if it wasn't your idea." He watched as she laughed some more then said quietly, "but you know what I mean." He watched as her laughter died down, though it wasn't loud to begin with, her lips remained smiling, and a slight blush crept up on her cheeks. "Always," she whispered.

For a moment he couldn't remember why he had come or what he'd wanted to stay, all he could do was gaze at the beautiful woman before him. She was breathtaking; possibly the prettiest thing he'd ever seen. He realized that he may have been gazing at her for more than a moment because she started to fidget a little bit, her cheeks were now crimson, and she had shifted her gaze from him to her lap. For a moment he thought she'd run, like she always did, but this time she stayed put, glancing up at him a couple of times from behind her long thick lashes. "Kate," he whispered wanting her to look up at him.

A part of her _knew_, a part of her had _always_ known, but she never listened to that part except once, and that had not gone at all as planned. This time though she was trying so hard not to run. But after he'd muttered her name, her first name, she gave up. She had to go; she _needed _to go. She looked up at him with a somewhat forced, yet sincere sympathetic smile on her lips.

He knew that look. Before he'd come he'd even anticipated that look and promised himself that he wouldn't let it stop him from what he'd come to do. But now he wasn't so sure he could carry on. Oh how he wanted so badly to hate that look, the only problem was that he couldn't get himself to hate anything about her. How could he hate something so pure, so beautiful? Not even a mad man could hate Katherine Beckett or any part of her. He watched her fumble. She was stuck, he realized. They were at her place, so ultimately she had no place to go without leaving him there. And that would make her a bad host. Her only other option was to kick him out, but Castle knew that wasn't something she would do. Or would she? "Kate," he whispered in hopes of preventing her from doing neither. He surprised himself by reaching out a hand to rest on her knee, his eyes still focused on her face.

Kate blinked in surprise as she looked down at Castle's outstretched arm. Realizing what she might look like she tried masking her shock with a smile. Then deciding that she didn't want Castle to think that she liked his hand there, even though she found it quite comforting, she erased her smile. With her eyebrows once again squished together she thought about what to do. Confused and unsure she slowly looked up at him, waiting.

He had done it! He had made her stay! It was time to say what he'd initially come to say. "Last year, right before the summer, you wanted to tell me something. What was it?"

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><p><strong>Another cliff hanger...I know, I'm terrible. But hopefully it's worth it..?<strong>

**Anyways let me know what you think like always!**


	14. He Snaps

**Before you start reading I just want to say thank you for all the great comments and for everybody who's got me as a favourite author, or this story as a favourite, or anyone who's following this story! From this chapter alone I've had over 50 emails notifying me of all your support. Haha. Anyways here's the chapter you've been waiting for, hope it lives up to your expectations!**

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><p>His question was completely unexpected; though she wasn't quite sure what she expected except that it most definitely wasn't that. Her mouth parted forming a small "o" but no words escaped it. It took her a second but she managed to regained control of her senses. "What?" She asked. Her lips were pursed, her head tilted slightly to one side, and her face wore an expression of surprise, and slight amusement as if she thought the question to be a joke.<p>

Castle blinked and left his eyes closed a little more than necessary. He inhaled, "before I left for the Hamptons the boys had thrown me a little surprise party and you took me aside..." His voice trailed off as he waited for her to say something. He sat up a little straighter trying to anticipate what she would say and how he should respond, but his attempt at getting her to talk was futile so he continued, "I just got the feeling that you never finished telling me whatever it was that you wanted to tell me."

As soon as he'd started talking, Beckett's mind had started racing. Why was he bringing up something that happened a year ago _now_? And why _that_ day? Sure, she had recently been going back down memory lane but how was Castle to know that. Maybe the boys were right; maybe they really were on the same wavelength. It made sense for them to be in synch on cases, but she never thought... _That is impossible_, she thought as she shook the notion away. Her mind went to people that might have hinted at something. The Captain, Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie flashed through her head. Lanie. That was the one name that stood out the most. Could she have said something? But why, after all this time? It didn't make sense, except that she was the only one who really knew what happened. _Esposito!_ The pieces were coming together. Lanie and Esposito were together so he might've put two and two together with a little help from his girlfriend. But it still didn't make sense.

"No, I'm pretty sure I said all I had to say. Castle why are you brining this up now?" Although the first part was a lie, the second part was her genuine curiosity talking.

"No reason," he said way too quickly. "I just thought that—forget it."

A short awkward silence passed between the two adults as Beckett tried to figure out whether she should continue to act amused and curious or whether she should change the subject for fear that something might come up that would cause her discomfort. Castle, on the other hand, kept his eyes on Beckett trying to decipher whatever it was that had her so speechless.

The silence was too much for him to bear, "You know you can tell me anything, right? I mean that's what partners are for."

"There's nothing to tell."

"But if there was—"

"Well there isn't."

"But—"

"Castle, drop it." She got up and walked towards the kitchen.

Beckett was clearly agitated and uncomfortable having this conversation but Castle wasn't about to let it go; he couldn't let it go. Not now when he was so close. "Why?" he demanded, rising to his feet.

Slowly she turned around to face him. The couch was now the only thing separating the two of them other than the distance. "What?" The "t" was barely audible.

"Why do I have to drop it Kate? Why? Why do I _always _have to drop it?" His voice was now just under a yell.

"Castle, _what_ is your problem?" Her face conveyed a mixture of hurt, disbelief, and anger.

"This," he exclaimed, gesturing at the two of them with one of his hands. "_This_ is my problem."

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><p><strong>So..? <strong>

**(P.S. sorry this chapter is extra short.) **


	15. Over Before it Began

**I had so many ideas for this chapter, but this is how the end result turned out. Hope you like it!**

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><p>"Well as I recall <em>this<em> wasn't my idea," her voice was now as high as his. She was talking about their unusual partnership.

Realizing what his words may have sounded like to Kate, he tried to calm himself. It took a minute but he managed to keep his voice at an acceptable volume, "That's not what I meant."

In the minute that Castle had used to regain himself, Beckett had used it to lose herself completely. "Well what _did_ you mean _Rick_?" She spat.

Castle's heart usually skipped a bit at the rare chance that Beckett would call him by his first name, but this time it sunk lower than ever before.

"This," he said somewhat harshly as he took two quick strides towards her; one around the couch and the next one so that he was directly in front of her, chest to chest.

Kate didn't have time to react to Castle's sudden advance as he grabbed her face in both hands and pulled her towards him in a searing kiss. Her instincts took over before her rational had time to evaluate the situation; her hands flew to the back of his head and pulled him closer whilst her mouth opened to allow his entrance.

Castle didn't know what had overcome him when he decided to kiss her but he was glad he'd made the first move and even happier that she hadn't pushed him away. One hand moved to the back of her head and tangled in her hair while they took a short breather before crashing their lips together once more.

She let out a moan in protest as Castle broke away from her lips and started nipping at her ear. She couldn't seem to think about anything except that this was the perfect time to get his shirt off. Her hands slid to his chest as she tried desperately to undo his buttons, but was finding it difficult to concentrate as he worked his mouth down her neck and onto the sensitive part just below her ear. She'd had the first two buttons undone when she decided that she had had enough and tugged hard causing the next two buttons to pop. Disappointed and irritated that there were still buttons left she gave up and slid her hands through the open part of his shirt. He moaned and she took that as an opportunity to continue the kiss that she so badly wanted. Now it was her turn to let out a moan as his hands caressed her back and sides edging closer to her chest.

And then it was over.

She had pushed him away and now they stood an arm's length apart. Both were panting and it took some time for them to catch their breaths. She looked at him. His hair was a mess, his lips swollen, and his shirt halfway unbuttoned. She looked the same with the exception of her robe, which was fully intact.

They just stared at each other; neither one had any idea what to say or do.

Last time she had had a purpose, something to do after the kiss had ended. But here, now, there was no life to save, no distraction. Oh how she wished there were.

His mind was racing as he played back their brief intimacy. He may have made the first move but she definitely attacked him; his shirt was proof of that. He hated this awkwardness and wanted to kiss her again, to feel her against him, heart racing and hot.

"Kate," he tried.

"Don't," she snapped. She didn't want to see the pain in his eyes so she moved her gaze to the floor. "You should go."

He took a step closer and she took an instinctive step backwards with one arm raised in front of her. "Why?" he asked.

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><p><strong>Okay, so another cliffhanger. Don't hate me, lol. Pleeease comment! Seriously though, it makes my day :). Ideas are welcome. And I have a question: should I change the rating to M because of this chapter or just leave it at T?<strong>


	16. The Unexpected

**So this is the end guys. I've gotten bored of this story so i decided to end it here. I hope you guys are all satisfied!**

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><p>"Because this... This is wrong."<p>

"How is it wrong Kate? How? We are both consenting adults who happen to be unattached at the moment." He words surprised him; usually it didn't take long for him to back down. But today was different; they had done more than they had ever done and he knew that it was now or never.

"Who work together!" She exclaimed in the tone she used to say "duh".

"So?"

To that short response she had no idea what to say. Working together had never stopped her from dating Demming, no matter how brief their time may have been. And she was sure that many other people had relationships with their co-workers. Lanie and Esposito were just one example. So why was she denying what she knew her heart wanted? She had no idea, but there was two things she did know; number one: she couldn't do this and number two: she wanted so badly to kiss him again.

"Because I can't," she answered, her arm still raised.

He took tiny steps very slowly towards her. "Why not Kate? You know how I feel."

"Do I?"

"How could you not? I've alw—"

"Castle. Don't."

"Fine."

"What?" She said in disbelief. Why was he giving up? He wasn't supposed to give up. Even though she did tell him that she couldn't do this and she was sure it was a good thing that he was backing down, she just didn't expect it.

"You said don't, and now I'm saying I won't," he paused, examining her face. "Isn't that what you want?"

"Um, yes." She tried her best to compose herself as she answered.

He stopped edging closer to her and tried to fix his shirt, or what was left of it. She stared at him, unsure what to do. Should she invite him to stay? Definitely not. She didn't another make-out session. Or did she?

He looked up at her after realizing that his shirt was never going to look presentable. He just hoped that Alexis didn't see him before he had had a chance to change. "So I guess I'll see you when another murder drops," he said as he made his way to her front door.

"You're leaving?" She was dumbfounded.

"Yeah. Goodnight Detective." He opened the door and let himself out.

She walked up to the door and watched him as he made his way over to the elevator. She left her apartment and stood right outside her door to get a better view. "Castle?" she called.

He didn't say anything but turned his attention to her.

"Night." He didn't reply, instead he smiled a tired and sad smile and then turned back to watch the numbers on top of the elevator illuminate.

She watched him step into the elevator and then something inside of her just snapped. Then she was running to the elevator. She stepped in-between the doors so that they couldn't shut. A startled Castle looked back at her.

"Kate? What?" He couldn't come up with a proper sentence.

"Was I not good?" She asked, a serious expression on her face.

"What?"

"The... You know."

"Oh." She was talking about the kiss. She was standing between the elevator doors asking him if she was a good kisser. This was definitely not something he could have ever dreamed up. He pinched himself to make sure. Nope, this was real. Kate Beckett wanted to know if he liked kissing her. "Yeah, no. It was, it was great. If you hadn't stopped I'd have kept going." She tried to hide her smile but he'd already seen it. He didn't even bother trying to cover his own up.

He looked so silly, smiling like an idiot. But she liked it, in fact she liked it a lot. Almost as much as she liked his answer. She didn't know why she had asked, but something strange had come over her and she went along her instincts, if it was even that. And now there she was, blocking him from going anywhere and asking him if he enjoyed kissing her. She felt like a teenager. There was that rush, and all those butterflies, like her life depended on his answer. And now that she had it, her life was saved and she was going to be okay. Although she knew that she would have been fine regardless of whether she asked the question or not, she was happy to know how he felt. And that was why she decided to ask her next question.

"Do you want to do it again?"

It took him a second for her question to sink in. "Uh. Well. Um. Uh. Y-y-yeah. I mean if you do." He should've just kissed her instead of answering her question. But he was frozen in place. A hand went out and grabbed his shirt and pulled; it was her hand. He followed her lead and let her pull him closer until he was nose-to-nose with her.

"Well then," she breathed. "I wouldn't like to deny a citizen his request. After all," she licked her lips, "I am the law." And then she kissed him.

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><p>Well?<p> 


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